OC Challenge #3: Linen Closet

I will admit that my towels and sheets (aka Linen Closet) is chronically unorganized.  I just don't know why I can't keep it nice and neat.  So I decided that since I couldn't close the door anymore due to the large heap on the floor of the closet, that it was time to tackle the mess.  So this is the challenge for the week:  clean out that linen closet and get it organized!  Here is my before picture:

You can obviously see that there is shelf space available here...so why the heap on the floor???  No idea!  Anyway, this took less than 10 minutes to fix and I couldn't be more pleased.  Well, maybe more pleased if the closet was BIGGER!  :)  Anway, here's the after photo:

It was as simple as folding the sheets and towels, putting them on the SHELF instead of the FLOOR, and adding a couple of dryer sheets for that "just washed laundry" smell.  Ta-da!

P.S.  The green bucket on the floor is my stash of cleaning supplies for the upstairs (I've got one of these downstairs, too).  This was a fantastic suggestion from a household organization class I attended a few years ago...no need for cleaning supplies stashed all over the house for little ones to get into.  I just keep one bucket upstairs and one downstairs, both with tightly snapping lids and now my house is safe!  I'll be highlighting this at a later date...
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Please link your newly organized closet photos using Mr. Linky below...show off your hard work! :)






UPDATE:

Due to the overwhelmingly (i.e. completely) absent response to my weekly organizational challenges, I have decided to focus my time and energy on posting my crafts and family updates.  You won't find any future organizational challenges, but I'd still love to hear from you if you have some fantastic organizational tips that will help make my life a little easier...I'm still on a constant organizational mission!!!  :)

OC Weekly Challenge #2: Cords, Cables & Media Stash

Wow! Such a great turnout for the first challenge!!! :) Hah! Oh well...like I said before, I'm doing this to get myself organized and if it happens to inspire anyone else to do so, then great. If not, I'm still getting organized!!! :)

This weeks challenge is to organize all those loose cords and media "stuff". I store all of my media stuff in the TV cabinet in the living room. I don't know about you, but it's IMPOSSIBLE to get a cord out of my stash without spending an hour pulling and untangling and typically giving up! And I never know exactly what I have. In fact, just yesterday I bought an extension cord at Target and then found the EXACT one just hanging out in my stash once I started organizing it!!!
Here are the before photos (no laughing!):
I found some mini rubber bands for little girls' hair in the haircare section at Target and decided they'd be the perfect size to use to keep these cords bundled and neat. It was like a dollar for 100 of them! I used them for all of the cords except the really fat cable cords and things that I rolled into a circle...I used zipties for those (Home Depot). Here is what it looked like after I bundled each cord"

Then I put all the TV and computer cords in the bin and the extension cords on the shelf next to the bin, since I'm usually pulling those out the most. Then I organized the camera/camcorder supplies and bags and put them all back into the cabinet:
And here is the result:

Looks better, huh? It still contains all of the stuff it did before, but now the doors close easily!!! :) Please send in some pics of your BEFORE and AFTER pics if you decide to take on this challenge!

OC Weekly Challenge #1: Kitchen Drawer

Let's kick off this challenge with an easy one...

Pick one (or more if you're motivated, but don't rub it in!) drawer in your kitchen to organize. Take a BEFORE photo and and AFTER photo. I want to see some great organizational ideas for holding kitchen utensils, all of that "junk" in the junk drawer, baby bibs, etc....

**UPDATE** 8/25/09

I suppose that if I expect anyone else to participate, I should prove that I, myself, am actually going to follow along with the challenge!  Soooooooo, I decided to tackle my kitchen "Administrative Station" (aka Junk Drawer).  For some reason, this drawer always manages to collect a bunch of random stuff that doesn't belong...especially reciepts!  I keep my receipts 'just in case' and haven't had a system for storing them....until now!  Here is my BEFORE junk drawer photo:

And here is the AFTER junk drawer photo:

And this is my memory board which I will now term "Temporary Stuff Holder" for things that need to be in plain sight or need attention in the near future (invites that need RSVPs, appointment reminders for upcoming appts, etc.).  In front of it is a little recipe card box with some tabbed dividers for each month of the year and for each day of the month.  Each month, I will put the current month's divider in front (since it's the end of August, I'm starting this system on September 1st)...then when I buy something, I will put the receipt behind the number of the day of the month I purchased the item on.  At the end of the month, I can check the receipts, by day, against my checkbook register, or make locating them a little easier in case I need to return something.  Then, at the end of the month they can all be paper clipped together and stuck at the back of the box and the new month can be brought to the front.  I think this will FINALLY help me keep those loose receipts organized!

Let me know if you have some great organizational tips for all that random junk drawer "stuff"...  :)

NEW WEEKLY ORGANIZED CHAOS CHALLENGE!!!

I've decided that in my ongoing quest for complete and total household organization (yeah, right) I am going to start a weekly organization challenge. This is mainly for myself...because frankly I need some external pressure to get anything done. And, hopefully if I can figure out this "Mr. Linky" thing, others can post their projects and give me some ideas and inspiration! Sound good?

Okay, so here's how it's going to work: Each Monday I will post a new challenge (for me to complete by the next Monday). I will post my results, with photos, and ask that anyone else that wants to participate to post theirs as well... I'm thinking I'll give it a 4-month run to start...through the end of 2009. (We'll see how far I actually get!) Maybe we can all be Carol Brady by the end of this run. :)

Hope this accomplishes something (other than gluing me to keyboard more than I already am!)...

Thoughts?